Stupendous September for Manor House Stables

Trainer Tom Dascombe at local Manor House Stables has had some memorable months but September 2019 must be one of the best. Last year we highlighted the achievement of prize money just reaching the one million pound mark by the end of December. This year the prize money pot has already reached this level in September, with three months still to run.

Tom consistently had a high winning percentage of round about 16% but this September he beat his average sending out 59 runners with a win percentage of 20%.

But wait, there's some big news! Tom and stable jockey Richard Kingscote won the Ayr Gold Cup with 3 year old Angel Alexander. The Ayr Gold Cup is one of Scotland's oldest and most valuable races. (See picture right) It is always hotly contested, there being 24 runners this year. Angel's four loyal owners picked up the winning prize of £124,500 and hold the handsome gold trophy for a year.

Prior to this great win, there had already been applause for the achievement of the Dascombe/ Kingscote combination (See picture right) reaching the fabulous total of 500 winners over a period of twelve years. Many jockeys and trainers would be proud to achieve this level of success individually so to do it in combination is a massive achievement. Tom's typical reaction was to say that he was focussing on win 501, 502, 503 etc. and sure enough the winners keep coming. Angel Alexander turned out to be one of them.

The equine industry is an important part of our local economy. Two large players are Manor House Stables, co-founded by Ex-England football star Michael Owen, and the nearby large National Hunt racing stable, Bank House, with trainer Donald McCain, carrying forward the legendary journey associated with Red Rum and other Grand National winners. Elsewhere in the area are a myriad of equine establishments and events with valuable spin-offs boosting the local economy. More news to come.